The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

So last night I stayed up to wait for either Dad to come home or a dreadful phone call from jail saying that Dad was there. Luckily, at 10:55 pm, Dad pulled in the driveway. So that's good. But Dad wasn't driving. That's not so good. The driver was my brother. That's good. They managed to get my brother to come home. Again, good. Only, he will be here for just a few days. Not so good. I stayed up until 11:10, said that 5 am comes early, and went to bed. That's good.

I woke up at 5 (the alarm clock woke me up this time). I checked the weather on the Internet and did normal preparation stuff and fed the animals. At 6 something (I didn't check the exact time), the three of us piled in Dad's truck and we went to my work. I asked if someone would take me there so I didn't have to ride in the cold. I finished the folding of the papers and set out for the delivery part of my job. I get 25% complete with delivering, and I hit a patch of ice on the road. I was over by the fire house, and some water had frozen overnight.

I wreck the bike and land on my hands and knee. I thought it was just a little scrape, but it wasn't. At the time it was because it looked like it wasn't going to bleed. At about 40%, I look down and see blood all over my leg. So I took a detour to my aunt's house and ask for a Band-Aid. She gives me two, and I head back out on my way. I used both of them.

Anyway, I finish half of my route, and again I look down. My knee was bleeding so much that it soaked through both bandages and proceeds to run down my leg to my sock. I think of who I could ask in the library section of town for a bandage or something, and realize that everyone who I know in this section of town has either moved away or died (the library section is home to the elderly living place). So I finish my residential route without stopping to clean up.

As I am loading up the papers for the business route, I get to thinking "I can't go in restaurants and medical products building with a leg looking that I've been sliced up with blood pouring out of it." I am a potential health hazard. So I stop over where Wade works now (he is the manager of an apartment complex) and ask where I can clean my leg. I get all cleaned up and see that I am missing a quarter-sized piece of skin missing. I then ask if I could have a bandage to cover it up. I am handed scotch tape and told to get a paper towel from the washroom. So I make a makeshift bandage and go on my merry way.

I finished the business route and then call the house to have Dad or my brother pick me up. No answer. I tried their cell phones. No answer. I sent them both text messages. No replies. I start to get mad, because I assumed that they were both in the garage (the cell service murderer) and forgot to put their phones by the door.

10 am comes, and another revelation really ticks me off. My check hasn't been signed and the person who signs them won't be in until the afternoon. I tell Gabby that I will get my check tomorrow when I am working, and then say that I am going home. I am tired and hurting and just want this day to be over.

I get home and learn that my brother and Dad were not there, but instead out at my Uncle's cutting firewood. I then went to bed and slept until they got back.

Now, my brother is off somewhere in Dad's truck; Dad's in bed (he went to bed at 7:15 pm), and I am here typing this to you. That's pretty much my day.

In other news, I started to play Legion today. It's different. I ended up dying after 6 minutes of playing and turned the game off at about 6 minutes and 15 seconds. I think I will try again later tonight. I am not about to claim defeat after 6 minutes and one death. I will probably give up completely after four or five deaths in a row.

Now, on to raining.

When I was younger and living in Arizona, we had monsoon season. The first time I was without my parents during the monsoon was in first grade. I was so scared then. A big storm at the beginning of the school year with a bunch of adults that weren't Mom and Dad and a class of kids as scared as I was were not the best combination in making me feel safe. That's what started my fear.

Then when we moved to Ohio in second grade, we lived near a place called Wamsley (Lacquer Head may know where I am talking about). This place is place is such a small town that it's one of those "if you blink, you'll miss it" towns. We lived right outside Wamsley next to a creek that floods whenever it rains. And that year, there were days when I would have to wade to get to the end of my driveway in order to get on the bus. The trailer (some dumpy singlewide) had no foundation and we would literally sleep as high up as we could when it rained just in case the water came in the house. This was when I became unable to sleep when it rained. I was so afraid that the trailer was going to be swept away by a flood that I could never sleep when it rained.

Luckily, we found a new place to live. Because in 1997 our area was hit with a giant flood. My cousin was sent to live with us because she lived in Wamsley as well. We had to drink canned water at school (that was provided by Anheuser-Busch). A neighbor kid of ours from Wamsley drowned in the flood. And our former home was swept away. After everything was safe again, we went to get some of my cousin's belongings that could be savaged. There was no house. It was like there had never been a trailer there to begin with. Just a bunch of mud.

So, that's why I have never been able to sleep when it rains. I am not afraid of storms anymore, but some subconscious thing from my childhood prevents me from sleeping. The only way I have found to actually sleep while it rains is to drown out the sound of rain with another sound.

Anyway...

There isn't much else to talk about tonight. Tomorrow I am working at the office. Hopefully I can kick butt selling ads. I was kinda wanting to not be offered the chance to work tomorrow. I could have said no, but I am not going to decline the chance at some extra money. Anyway, it just means that I won't have to work in the office again until the Monday before Thanksgiving. Let's see...

Nov. 9 - Office
Nov. 15 - Route
Nov. 19 - Office
Nov. 21 - Route (Because I don't deliver on Thanksgiving)
Nov. 26 - Office
Nov. 29 - Route

So, that's all for now. Hope to see you around the forums!

Later!

Michael